An Update.

My doctor's office called me back on Tuesday with an appointment with the perinatologist. I went to see him yesterday at 3:30pm. I knew they'd do an ultrasound but that's all. I was there for 4 hours, here's what happened.

The sonographer did an ultrasound on my belly but because the baby is still so small (14 weeks, 2 days) she had a hard time seeing. they decided to do the ultrasound trans vaginally and while they could see better, the baby was fast asleep and not budging so they still couldn't see what they needed to. They looked at the brain and it's growing well, but they couldn't see the neck area to measure the thickness. So the doctor came in and tried to look for himself. No such luck.

They had me drink a bottle of water to fill my bladder. After about 15 minutes they came back for another look. Not enough water, so they gave me 4 more cups. 15 minutes later they took another look and all they could see was my overly full bladder! So I went to the bathroom to drain my bladder then they looked again.

We talked to the doctor about our options for learning more information about whether or not the baby had Trisomy 18. We were told that we could do a CVS test (Chorionic Villus Sampling) an Amniocentesis, or we didn't have to do anything. Another option was to just wait and check the growth and anatomy at the 19 week scan. Generally, Trisomy babies are small and underweight so monitoring the growth of the baby is a good indicator to whether or not the baby will have T18. However, this baby has consistently measured a few days ahead of schedule in the growth department so that's reassuring.

Anyway, we opted to do the CVS test because the results are back within 2 days (tomorrow) and it tests specifically for all Trisomy abnormalities. If we did the Amnio, then we'd have to wait until week 16 so do it and the results would take longer to get back. So we opted for the CVS test. What is a CVS test? Well they insert a needle into your lower abdomen and remove fluid from between the placenta and uterine wall. They then test the fluid to determine if the baby is at risk of any chromosomal abnormalities.

They can remove the fluid, one of two ways. They can go through your cervix to retrieve it or through your abdomen. While my bladder was still full, they tried to insert a catheter, the width of a toothpick, into my cervix, up to my placenta. They do this all by ultrasound so they can see what they are doing. However, my cerclage is holding tight (thank God!) and there was no getting through it. He tried a couple time to get through, without success, so he went in abdominally. The gave me numbing medication through a syringe. He numbed the area, then with the syringe still inside me, he poked around til he found where he needed to be (guided by ultrasound) then withdrew a syringe full of fluid. That hurt quite a bit, even with the numbing medication, but it passed rather quickly and once he was done, the pain subsided.

They are testing the fluid and "growing it" to see what becomes of it. They'll determine whether or not the baby had any defects and call me tomorrow. I was there til 7 last night, and the doctor, the sonographer and 2 nurses stayed there without complaint. They close at 5, but never did they make us feel like we were a burden. Or that we needed to reschedule during "normal business hours". We left feeling important and cared for. He and his staff really were wonderful.

On top of all this, I've been experiencing high blood pressure with this pregnancy. In a non-pregnant state, my BP is consistently 120/80 but with this baby is been a lot higher. It doesn't matter who's checked it or where I've been, the time of day, it's been running about 140/90 - 140/100. I've been concerned about it and the nurses have commented about it but not one doctor has said anything about it. The perinatologists office called today and they want me to take my BP 3x daily and call them in a couple days with the results. If it continues to stay high, then I'll have to get on medication to keep it down.

That's all I know for now. I'll find out the fate of our baby tomorrow and I'll fill you guys in on the info. Thanks for being there for me and wishing me the best. I'm trying to stay calm and breathe, but it's tough. This baby is definitely spunky and different than the boys. I have to keep telling myself that. He/she is keeping me on my toes!

~Monica